It's official now. The much-awaited Panipat flyover on the National Highway No 1 is finally going to be inaugurated on July 17. The flyover that was expected to be opened for vehicular traffic in the first week of June got delayed due to certain reasons. The bridge would now be inaugurated by union minister for shipping, road and transport T. R. Baalu and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The flyover has been completed eight months ahead of schedule and had been awaiting a final nod from the government agencies. The construction of the Rs 325-crore flyover had been executed by L&T Panipat Elevated Corridor Pvt Ltd on a build-operate-transfer basis. The 3.4-km elevated stretch would ease traffic congestions in the city and is likely to reduce travel time between Delhi and Chandigarh by about 40 minutes. However, the local residents of the city had expressed their dismay over the charging of toll from them even as they would not be using the bridge. In order to redress the grievance, the government had announced that only 25 per cent of toll would be charged from them. Meanwhile, the district administration today ordered a final survey of the bridge by officials concerned to ensure that no anomalies had been left unattended before the bridge is thrown open to the public.